Blog

May 2nd, 2012

The number of users on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ is growing, and as it does, its prominence in law suits increases exponentially. In February 2012, this blog covered the precedents being set in the state of Pennsylvania about whether insurance …

April 25th, 2012

Though not a new phenomenon, school bus accidents have been increasingly prevalent in the news in recent months, locally, nationally, and even internationally. We have heard of injuries to children, bus drivers, other motorists and even several deaths. But what are the facts about school …

April 18th, 2012

Have you ever wondered how well pharmacies are able to detect and protect against drug interactions between the various prescriptions you may be taking? Many pharmacies use computer software designed to search for possible drug interactions between the medications prescribed for you by your various …

April 11th, 2012

Depakote (a pharmaceutical name for valproate semisodium) has been prescribed as a mood stabilizer since the late 1970s, particularly for sufferers of epilepsy. Today, the medication is mostly used to treat bipolar disorder (manic depression) and migraine headaches. It has proven to be incredibly effective …

March 28th, 2012

The question is whether or not medical malpractice tort reform has enacted any positive change in the United States. The answer you get depends almost completely upon whom you ask. Advocates for tort reform legislation argue that doctors who fear lawsuits for medical negligence practice “defensive …

March 14th, 2012

Kernicterus is a rare but serious disease that affects babies soon after they are born. It is especially tragic because it is so easily prevented. The first indication of the disease is the yellowing of a baby’s skin, called jaundice, which is caused by an excess …

March 7th, 2012

Spina bifida is a very serious developmental disorder in which a child’s neural tube (the spinal cord and its surrounding tissue) does not close completely. For this reason, it is often known as an NTD, or neural tube disorder. Other disorders that fall under this …

February 21st, 2012

As we have written about before on this blog, rising medical costs are often attributed to increases in doctors’ malpractice insurance premiums due to so-called “frivolous” litigation. This is certainly what many in the media and in politics will have you believe because it squarely places …

February 15th, 2012

Amaris Elliott-Engel wrote an article in The Legal Intelligencer (which will be excerpted here, although premium access is required to view the full text) about the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives’ recent push to enact a piece of tort reform legislation that would cap punitive …

February 8th, 2012

A new law has recently gone into effect that may help you worry a bit less the next time you find yourself driving next to a tractor-trailer on a highway. In early January of this year, the United States Department of Transportation’s ban on commercial …

February 1st, 2012

As Facebook encroaches more and more into our daily lives, it was only a matter of time before judges would begin taking it into account when making legal decisions. As reported recently by The Legal Intelligencer, a local judge has just weighed-in with his opinion …

January 18th, 2012

Diane Sawyer and her ABC World News team recently produced a segment about medical malpractice and its costs (financial, emotional, and physical). Sawyer presents a startling figure that is enough to scare any American: one in three patients who enter a hospital will face a medical …